Transform Your Life

Imagine waking up and not having food rule your thoughts. Imagine not feeling guilty or filled with regret about your food choices. Imagine not white-knuckling your way through a day because today is the day you will start being “good.” Imagine not fearing real food; wondering if a banana has too much sugar or if carbs are making you fat. Imagine trusting that you can eat more than just chicken and salad. Imagine living a life free from dieting.

Is it possible to break-free from diet culture thinking? Yes. Will it be easy? No.

Diet culture thinking is built on a foundation of fear. Diets began by pointing the finger at us and how much we overate. We were taught to fear calories. We no longer considered the nutrient value of food, but focused solely on its caloric cost. Yet, we still gained weight. And so diets evolved. Next they said, “Perhaps calories aren’t important. Maybe it is fat that is making us fat.” And so we began to fear fat. Low-fat, reduced fat and zero fat became our focus. Yet we STILL gained weight. Could it be carbohydrates? Grains? Meat? Seafood? Gluten? Sugar? Lectins? The diet culture continued to tell us, “If you just eliminate one or several of these culprits you will lose weight.”

We want fast, cataclysmic, over-the-top. We want hyperbole. The ordinary, the sensible is of no interest. We don’t want God at the dinner table, we want the burning bush.

Could it be that all the “research,” the hyperbolic declarations and fear-based eliminations are intended to distract us from the sensible? Distract us from the truth? Disconnect us from God and God’s provision? I think about all the diet noise that’s echoed through the halls of the diet culture and fitness industry and for years I sat it out and simply observed. I didn’t want to add to it, nor did I think what I believed needed to be stated: God designed you. He designed foods to nourish your body. He covered it in the first book of the Bible.

Then God said, I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food.

Genesis 1:29

Everything that lives and moves about will be food for you. Just as I gave you the green plants, I now give you everything.

Genesis 9:3

Have we wandered so far that we no longer know what to eat?

Have we grown so confused that we no longer know that the sugar present in a fig is not worse for us than a sugar-free fig newton? Do we truly believe that health and weight loss are achieved through the consumption of food-like products laden with chemicals?

I believe we no longer have any idea what we should and should not eat. And, the moment we think we know, another expert tells us that it is bad for us too. We gave up carbs, gluten, meat, dairy, sugar, fat, and now we can’t eat legumes or many vegetables. What is left to eat? If all the elimination wasn’t enough of a problem, we’ve divided up into food camps. As if we don’t have enough that divides us. Now we can be disagreeable and judgemental about the food everyone else chooses to eat.

Eating is not that difficult nor is it some complex endeavor that requires a degree. In fact, the more arduous and confusing eating becomes the more our weight and health crisis grows.

Could it be simple? Just common sense? Just a return to the TRUTH laid out for us in the first book of the Bible?

Yes. Unfortunately, what was once something we just knew how to do has to be re-taught. Make no mistake about it, the food industry and the diet culture have done their job well. They’ve disconnected us from knowing how to nourish our bodies. They’ve changed the way we live our lives. We no longer cook. We no longer commune at the dinner table. We have to re-learn what was once a given. And, we have to do something in the face of a culture that screams no! Everywhere you turn, you will be bombarded by the food industry and diet culture lies. Everywhere you turn, you will be lured by ease and convenience. Everywhere you turn you will be greeted by another expert who peddles fear under the guise of health.

Well, I don’t know about you, but I am absolutely certain that fear profits no man and it certainly cannot be the foundation of a healthy, abundant life.

How do we begin a transformation?

Slowly. We build common sense habits over time to re-connect us to the foods that were designed to perfectly nourish us.

Honestly. We accept the truth that anything of value was never attained effortlessly. Health cannot be founded on fear. Nor can it be sustained on a foundation of ease and convenience. We must do the work. Sow the seeds to reap the harvest.

Rationally. We must learn how our bodies use the food we eat; for example, what is the function of carbohydrates? Educating ourselves is the best defense against fear-mongering experts and the lure of trending diet.

Mindfully. Throughout the process understand that you are unique and wonderfully made. Learn the foods that fuel your best life. Learn the balance that you can sustain the whole of your life. A balance that is disciplined but not perfect. A balance that promotes health (both physical and emotional).

Abundantly. Free of fear and guilt. Full of joy and grace. Surrounded by community. A life where food connects us to each other, to home and to our Father.

What is the first step to break free of the diet culture mindset? Be willing to not just change what you eat but to renew your mind in order to transform your life (see Romans 12:2). This journey will be so much more than just weight-loss. Imagine a life where food is a source of joy and nourishment. Imagine a life where you are fully present because you are vibrant, healthy and at peace with the scale. Imagine a life anchored in the Truth. Imagine a life where knowing what to eat is a simple.

That life can be yours.

We are currently in the pre-sale period for our program, the Common Sense Transformation. This program comes as the accumulation of 4 decades of industry experience between my own career and Alex’s career. For years we have watched from behind the iron curtain as the diet culture pushed society through its cycles, leaving us in a worse state after each passing wave. We’ve both coached clients to massive, lifelong successes and know the process inside and out.

This program is the process laid out before you for the course of an entire year. For one year you get to walk with us as we help you navigate the journey of renewal and transformation.

The program launches January 1, 2019, but if you enroll early you’ll get the opportunity to save up to $189 (and first 100 to enroll and pay in full receive free copy of the textbook!).